Cumnock P7 away to Whitecraigs

For their 2nd fixture of the new season Cumnock Cougars took the short trip up the M77 to Newton Mearns to play Whitecraigs RFC. In pretty dreich conditions where rain was always threatened the Cougars continued to work off some of their early season rustiness against a big and abrasive ‘Craigs outfit. It was clear from the kick-off that ‘Craigs had been working hard on their rucking since the teams last met which caused Cumnock some problems in supplying good quality ball to the backs: that the home side’s persistent infringements at the ruck went unnoticed or sanctioned only added to the Cougars woes. Nonetheless Cumnock stuck hard to their task and great work by Captain Lewis Young, Rhino Robertson, Ross Lindsay and Finn Hewitt, Cameron Kerr and new recruits Brandon and Ryan in the forwards saw the Cougars gain some parity in the close encounters. Once again Rhino put in a great shift at Hooker stealing ball and generally making a nuisance of himself on the ‘Craigs put in at scrumtime.
When in possession Cumnock P7's have some of the most dangerous backs in the west of Scotland and with scrum half Gavin Kirkland sniping away behind his forwards probing the 'Craigs defence and spreading the ball out to his backs the hosts had to be constantly on their toes. As Cumnock ran in more tries ‘Craigs increasingly lost their discipline and the game developed into a somewhat towsy affair, however, Cumnock never took a backward step and for the most part kept their composure despite a lot of provocation from persistent high tackles, ruck infringements, and a couple of incidents of foul play. The Cougars ploughed on, played some decent rugby and continued scoring tries - exemplified by a lovely finish from Tyler following a great support run from him and searing break from Gavin and a superb solo effort from Finn - running ¾ the length of the pitch and from touch line to touchline on a beautifully judged angle to evade the flailing arms of Whitecraigs desperate defence.
A far from perfect performance from the Cougars particularly in the ruck and fringe defence and as always more to work on at training, but an emphatic win of 9-4 in the circumstances was very impressive. Well done to Ryan and Brandon on their first games for the team. The P7’s will have training on Tuesday and Thursday this week and are at home to Strathaven and CQP on Sunday 10th September.
Squad: Ryan McCarron, Rhino Robertson, Ross Lindsay, Lewis Young, Finn Hewitt, Cameron Kerr, Brandon Ralston, Gavin Kirkland, Harry Biggans, Sandy Hay, Dan McKinlay, Tyler Wilson, Liam Cunninghame, TJ Graham
Trys – Dan 4, Finn 2, Tyler 1, Lewis 1, TJ 1

Cumnock RFC Minis and Micros are always open to new players and any new recruits are always made very welcome. Please contact Scott Given, Mini Coordinator (P4-7) on 07955164547 or Stuart Benzie, Micro Coordinator (P1-3) on 07989940109 for more details on joining.